Massachusetts

Ethel Kennedy hospitalized following stroke, family says

Former Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, says his grandmother, Ethel Kennedy, had a stroke last week

Ethel Kennedy in 2017
Stephen Lovekin/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke last week, family said Tuesday.

Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, made the announcement on social media. He said Ethel, his 96-year-old grandmother, has been receiving treatment since her stroke on Thursday.

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"She is comfortable, she is getting the best care possible, and she is surrounded by family," her grandson wrote in a statement. "She is, as you may know, a strong woman who has led a remarkably fulfilling life. We are here looking after her."

The former congressman's aunts, Kerry Kennedy and Rory Kennedy, shared similar statements about their mother.

Ethel Kennedy's husband served as attorney general under his brother, President John F. Kennedy. He continued to serve under President Lyndon B. Johnson after his brother's assassination in 1963.

Robert F. Kennedy was then elected to the U.S. Senate in New York and was running for president when he was assassinated in 1968.

The couple's son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recently ended his own independent campaign for president and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

As of Wednesday night, RFK Jr. had not made a statement about his mother on his social media accounts.

In their statements, Ethel Kennedy's daughters and grandson asked for the public to keep her in their thoughts and prayers and to respect the family's privacy.

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